According to the National Institutes of Health, a regular menstrual cycle averages 28 days from start to finish, with day 1 being the day you get your period, day 14 is generally when you ovulate and day 28 being the last day before your next period. The NIH recognizes that cycles vary, with some being longer or shorter than 28 days. Irregular periods are more commonly cycles that do not follow a particular pattern or number of days. Irregular cycles can make trying for a baby difficult because ovulation can be harder to detect. Determining ovulation is the key to trying to conceive with irregular periods.
Step 1
Try for a baby without charting ovulation, body temperature or any other bodily functions for a set period of time before you resort to a more heightened organizational method. Many women with irregular periods ovulate, just not on a set schedule. Based on your age and overall health, your doctor may ask you and your partner to have regular sex for a number of months to see if you conceive before addressing your irregular cycles.
Step 2
Take your basal body temperature every day before you get out of bed. MayoClinic.com explains that your body temperature will rise slightly when you're ovulating, making the conception window more easily identifiable. Use a regular oral thermometer--a digital version will give you a more accurate reading--and write down each day's reading. Once you have figured out a pattern to your temperature readings, you can time sex for the two to three days leading up to ovulation as prime baby-making time.
Step 3
Pay attention to signs in your body that can indicate ovulation. Your vaginal discharge will look and feel like egg whites in the days leading up to ovulation. You may feel lower back pain or cramping as the egg is released. Women with irregular periods may need to be more watchful of these signs because counting days to predict ovulation is not as accurate as having regular cycles to time your ovulation.
Step 4
Maintain a healthy body weight if you've got irregular periods and are trying to conceive. Being either underweight or weighing more than is appropriate for your height and body type can cause you to stop ovulating, according to MayoClinic.com. Anovulatory cycles--a cycle without ovulation--tend to be irregular and won't allow you to conceive.
Step 5
Give blood samples to test your hormone levels if you've got irregular periods and have not had luck conceiving. Hormonal imbalances can impede ovulation and hamper your conception attempts.
Step 6
Take medication to balance hormone levels or to promote ovulation. Clomiphene citrate is an oral medication prescribed to induce ovulation, and must be taken on certain days of your cycle to be effective. Your doctor will let you know which days to take the medication.
Step 7
Use an ovulation predictor kit to determine your likely ovulation day to help you try for a baby when your periods are irregular. Similar to a pregnancy test, you urinate on a stick in the approximate middle of your cycle; the test gives a positive response when you approach ovulation.
Women who menstruate less regularly may not benefit from these tests because determining the days on which to take the test can be challenging; using the test along with clomiphene citrate, however, can be an effective tool to help you time sex appropriately.
Things You'll Need
- Digital thermometer
- Graph paper
- Blood tests
- Medication
- Ovulation predictor kit
